This invention relates to cribs, playpens and other similar enclosures for infants and children. More particularly, the present invention relates to a safety device for retaining a child within such an enclosure. The present invention is embodied in a tent-shaped safety canopy that is fixable to the top of a conventional crib or playpen, hereafter sometimes referred to as a "pen."
Infants and children generally spend a large amount of time in pen-like structures. Because it is not practical to supervise a child in one of these structures continually, a number of safety devices were developed to prevent the child from climbing or falling out of the pen structure and sustaining an injury.
Although many of the prior art devices accomplish the intended task of retaining the child within the pen, there continues to be a number of inherent limitations in the design of such devices. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,145,396, 3,546,721, 3,905,056, 4,015,297 and 4,073,017 all disclose various safety canopy means for attachment to either cribs or playpens. The inherent limitation in all the above patents, however, is that the canopy lies directly perpendicular to the side walls of the pen. Therefore, the child or toddler has no headroom after reaching a certain height, and the useful life of such a device is severely limited. Furthermore, the means used to attach these canopy devices to the pen are cumbersome and impractical. Also, only U.S. Pat. No. 3,546,721 of those listed above discloses a canopy in which an access means is provided for reaching the child or infant within the enclosure while keeping the canopy secured in place.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,878,570 discloses a frame-supported canopy for a crib. However, the patented apparatus is made strictly for environmental control of the enclosure and has a use limited to medical applications, as is U.S. Pat. No. 3,905,056 listed above. These devices are designed to strictly control the environment within the canopy enclosure, by preventing passage of oxygen and sound and restricting easy access to the infant.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,344,442 discloses a canopy in the shape of a truncated pyramid, which may be attached to the top of a crib. This structure was designed to provide a safety canopy for use in transporting infants in medical environments. One limitation of this structure is that the canopy is made of a hard plastic material, thereby preventing access to the enclosure except by removing the canopy structure. Removal of the canopy structure requires operation of a special sliding track apparatus which retains the canopy on the crib.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,590,956 discloses a tent-like structure that is attachable to a mattress. Although this particular patent alleviates the problem of headroom for the occupant of the enclosure and does provide access to the enclosed area, the access is not convenient, the apparatus must be affixed to the mattress, and it provides no means for attachment to a playpen.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a safety canopy for pens, which provides adequate headroom for an infant or child and thereby extends the useful life of such a device.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a safety canopy for pens, which is easily mounted on a crib or playpen.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a safety canopy for pens, which provides means for easy access to the enclosure and which allows the passage of light, sound and air.